Fight Breast Cancer Now :

The month of October was designated international breast cancer awareness month and the pink ribbon is the emblem of this movement. The sure fire way to fight off this cancer is early screening and diagnosis. .........By Sadia Hossain.

Breast cancer is cancer arising in breast tissue. cancer being a group of abnormal cells haveing an abnormal growth pattern. it is primarily, a disease prevalent among women, however 1% of breast cancer patients are men, 1 in 8 women (12%) will contract breast cancer in their lifetime and , according to WHO, breast cancer is the second biggest cause of death among women.

an international breast cancer awareness month observance programme was conducted by the Ahsania Mission Cancer Hospital in Mirpur last month and free consulting and cheaper rates for surgery and treatment were on offer at the hospital throughout the month.

Approximately 35,000 women contract breast cancer every year in Bangladesh and deaths due to breast cancer amounts to 16 percent of all cancer affected women.

Cancer specialist, professor Mahbubul Alam, has said that around three fourths of women above the age of 50 contract breast cancer in Bangladesh.

There is no cancer registry in the country and the only insight into the cancer statistics comes from hospital-based and population based registry systems.

The majority of Bangladeshi women neglect breast cancer signs and never seek treatment because of the existing social stigma regarding treatment of a sensitive body part, A lack of knowledge and scarcity of clinics are responsible for women’s negligence.

Step : 1 --- Early Detection :

cancer in its preliminary stages usually has no symptoms and does not cause pain in the breasts. But as the cancer grow, the following symptoms may be visible :

For pre-menopausal women, a lump (or chaka) in the breast or underarm usually appears after the menstrual cycle.

Note : Inpre-menopausal women, 1 in 12 lumps are found to be malignant but it is still a good idea to get a mammogram in addition to consulting a doctor.

Mammograms will detect a lump even if there are no visible signs on the breast. For post-menopausal women, whose breasts are not subject to change due to a cycle, the possibility of malignancy is 1 in 2 cases.

Swelling in the armpit.

Lumps are usually painless, but a sensation of pain or converse tenderness in the breast.

In version of the nipples.

Itchy and scaly skin around the nipple and areola is an example of the very rare form of breast cancer, pager’s disease.

A discharge of a bloody, clear or any other colour fluid.

NOTE : this may also be caused by non-cancerous issues.

any area either noticeable flat, or a change in the size and shape of the breast.